Bon Jovi fans will no doubt have been waiting with heightened anticipation for the band to embark upon their world tour. They will, of course, have been eagerly awaiting news of what songs the band will play from their back catalogue, what kind of shape they’ll be in, musically, even what the band will be wearing and what merchandise they’ll have on sale. One thing they will not have been expecting to be greeted by the sight of a Bon Jovi with a missing Richie Sambora.

The band have issued a very brief statement on their website however, revealing that Sambora will not be performing on “this upcoming leg” of the tour. They did not detail exactly which dates will see the guitarist absent from the line-up and nor were the personal issues expanded on. In the past, LA Times reports, Sambora has been ‘side-lined’ from the band because of issues that he’s had in the past, including painkiller addiction and DUI arrests. Last year, Sambora released his own album Aftermath of the Lowdown.

At last night’s show in Calgary (April 2, 2013), the band’s singer Jon Bon Jovi told the crowd “I had two choices - pack up and go home or give you everything I got .... Richie Sambora won't be performing for a while. If there's ever a night I need you, it's tonight, Calgary!"